Dream Beaches

departure...

Here it is... the day of departure has finally arrived!! Around 14:00 Cri V. picks me up from home with her father to go to the Forlì station where we have arranged to meet the other two, Me and Cri B. At 14:52 we have the train to Milan where we arrive after about 3 hours. From here, as usual, we take the shuttle to Malpensa and check in. Warning for anyone who will fly with Qatar Airways because they weigh even the hand luggage!! Around 22:00 we take off... not even an hour later they serve us dinner. The service is excellent, the food good and the aircraft brand new. On our seats as soon as we boarded we found a pouch with a shoulder strap containing a pair of socks, the eye mask, toothpaste with toothbrush and earplugs which I didn't use as I didn't even try to sleep given the flight was short and between the films and the games you could play on your own TV, the time flew by....

Arrival in Mahe' and transfer to Praslin

....after about 5 hours of flight we arrive in Doha, it's early morning and it's not that hot. The airport is brand new and not yet fully completed. We have a stop of a couple of hours and then we take off again. Another 5 hours or so of flight and we arrive in Mahè. It's around 14:15, we're right on time.. actually maybe even early. We had booked the flight to Praslin for 17:30 to avoid taking risks in case of delays but now the idea of waiting so long here terrifies us since the domestic flights waiting room is outside and it's incredibly hot! We immediately go to ask if they can move our flight earlier and they tell us to wait... luckily around 16:00 they call us, hand us the boarding passes which are reusable plastic cards, and have us sit in a small lounge. We take a look at the runway and in front of us there are only a couple of very very small planes...

who knows which one is ours?! We don't even have time to finish that thought when we see a cart with our suitcases passing by and heading right toward one of them. Shortly after they have us go out onto the runway and we board. On the advice of some friends who had already been there, I choose one of the seats on the left so I can see well and take some photos of St. Anne park from above. As soon as we're all on board we take off... the islets of St. Anne park from above are splendid and the colors of the sea incredible... fantastic!!! after about 20 minutes we're already on the runway of the tiny Praslin airport. We go through passport control and here it is.... the first coco de mer I see stamped forever on my passport!! We collect the suitcases... mine is the last one and I was almost losing hope....it's incredibly hot and very humid...

as soon as we come out we take a taxi and have them take us to the booked hotel Casa De Maestro which is just a few kilometers away and in fact in a couple of minutes we arrive (10 € for the taxi... if it weren't so hot you could even walk!). At first glance from the outside it looks very nice, well kept and with a large beautiful garden in front but there's no one around.. neither tourists nor employees.. then a young man arrives who accompanies us to the reception and we check in.. it seems he knows nothing about our reservation but there are no problems and he takes us to our rooms. Unfortunately he assigns us 2 on the ground floor, we would have preferred the second floor to have fewer problems with insects and various little creatures coming from the garden, but oh well.

As soon as we enter the room the impression isn't the best because although everything is very clean and tidy, the environment is a bit gloomy and dark, the furniture is very old-fashioned like my grandparents' furniture and very basic but it's only a first impression because then we were very comfortable and in the end we were really sorry to leave. I try to send a text home but I can't so I try to call but you only hear a loud noise and we can't understand each other.. so I give up hoping the situation improves in the coming days.. maybe there's a fault or some interference since after all from Mahè I had managed to send a text without problems. After a quick shower and freshening up we decide to go out for a walk and for dinner. We head toward the small town, see some grocery stores, a couple of banks and a gas station.

After a while a guy approaches us who wants to exchange our money and even though he doesn't inspire much trust because he seems a bit out of it, we take advantage of it and exchange 100 euros at 4 to 11 after a brief negotiation. Now that we have the money we go into a grocery store and buy a phone card but even with this we can't make calls... I don't know if it's us being clumsy or if the phone booths have problems... oh well...never mind.. The guy from the store also asks if we want to exchange and offers us a rate of 12 so we decide that next time we'll exchange money with him. A little later, after trying other phone booths around without success, we start looking for a place to eat.

There aren't many restaurants in the area and while we're wondering where to go we meet a couple of Italians who are going to dinner and they suggest we go with them to the Britannia Restaurant and so we do. The place is nice, I'd say almost luxurious compared to the other restaurant we had seen along the road. The menu doesn't have much of a choice, we decide to get some fish fillet with a side dish and everything is excellent. After dinner we're quite tired so we chat a bit with the couple who had accompanied us then we return to our hotel. Luckily we brought batteries because where there are no streetlights the darkness is absolute, fortunately though there's a wide sidewalk along the whole route so at least we don't run the risk of being hit.

As soon as we get back to the hotel we sit outside for a bit where there's a small lounge area and we take stock of the situation thinking about where to go the next day and then we go to bed because we're really exhausted. In the room it's a good 32° without air conditioning so we turn on the fan above the bed but it's still quite hot. Lucky for me the heat doesn't bother me!

ferry booking and cotè d'or

As always on vacation we wake up very early and immediately get ready to go explore the island. In the garden where we're supposed to have breakfast there's only one table set so we assume we're the only guests of the hotel...but there's no one around, not even staff.. let's hope for the best.... we go sit down hoping someone will come and finally around 8 the guy from the night before appears. We order eggs and coffee and after a while they bring us fresh fruit, toasted bread, jam, a microscopic portion of eggs and one slice of processed cheese each. It's not very abundant but we make do, dividing the crumbs with our only table companions...the little birds... After breakfast we ask if they can book our entry to Anse Georgette for the next day, we ask for information about the bus stop and then we set off.

First stop at the jetty where we get information about the ferry to La Digue and for the return to Mahè and we book both. We take the bus again heading to Anse Volbert and get off near the gelateria da Luca so praised by other travelers. Here too, as in Grande Anse, there aren't many shops, a few grocery stores and a couple of souvenir shops but nothing special, the beach on the other hand is very beautiful but not the splendor I had heard about, probably because these days it's full of seaweed and the water isn't very clear. The sand is nonetheless dazzlingly white. We settle in the shade of a tree near the Sagittarius Water Sport diving center and in front of the Berjaya Praslin Beach Hotel pizzeria. We stayed there all afternoon, apart from a few walks along the beach, lying in the shade because the sun was scorching and we didn't want to run the risk of getting sunburned.

In the nearby park there was also a kind of Valentine's Day fair and we spent the time watching people dressed up for the occasion, strolling among the many stalls of food, baskets and bouquets of flowers and various products. Evidently for them it's a very important and deeply felt celebration. There were also lots of little girls, each more beautiful than the last, and I took lots of photos of them. Watching them we realized that they're much freer and more independent than where we're from, in fact you'd see them going around alone or in small groups, without the shadow of a parent keeping an eye on them, even though they were quite young,... already from this we realized that life here certainly can't be as dangerous as where we're from and that maybe they're much better off, also because the island is basically not very big and surely everyone knows each other a bit. Lucky them...

By mid-afternoon we got tired and decided to take the bus again to go a bit to the beach in front of our hotel. Let me open a parenthesis about the buses: almost all of them, some more some less, are pretty beat-up and on top of that the drivers are crazy.. we had a lot of fun taking them but if you think about it carefully I don't know how safe they are because they go like lightning and the roads are almost always very narrow, where the asphalt ends there's not grass but almost always a void or a drop to the sea or a canal etc. as if that weren't enough if you take the inner route there are also lots of hairpin turns and the road has a considerable incline. But they're convenient for getting around the island and they're worth taking also because they're used mainly by locals so you also get a chance to know the local people a bit more. Parenthesis closed... back to our beach.

To reach Grande Anse beach from our hotel you just cross the road and take a short path that goes through a kind of forest full of coconut trees and very dense vegetation. The beach is deserted, not very wide but long and very beautiful. Contrary to what many had told me there isn't even a trace of seaweed.. the water is crystal clear and still, it looks like a mirror and it's very warm, obviously we can't resist and taking advantage of the fact that the sun is no longer scorching we take a nice swim. It's so nice.. too bad there's little shade so it's unthinkable to stay there all day from morning to evening. Only flaw: the terrible sunflies... But it really is splendid.. we stay until sunset, the sun sets right on that side, then we go back to the hotel to take a shower and change for dinner.

We find out that for tomorrow it's not possible to go to Georgette but they assure us they'll try to ask for the day after. We also ask if for the following days it's possible to have breakfast at least by 7.30 because we get up early and would like to make the most of the day by leaving as early as possible. Tonight for dinner we decide to go to the Sunset Cafè but unfortunately we find it closed so we opt for a take-away a bit further away. The choice is a bit meager but we spend a pittance for a container with a mountain of rice, some vegetables and some pieces of fish in sauce. We eat it at the tables outside and then have a coffee at the bar next door. We go back to the hotel and sit in "our" lounge, taking advantage of the fact that we're still the only guests, we stay out there playing cards and jenga until late, making a bit too much noise.

Valle de Mai and Anse Lazio

This morning we decided to go see the famous Valee de Mai. We take the bus that stops in front of the park entrance and decide to tour it on our own without a guide. First we generously spray ourselves with mosquito spray because there are really a lot of them, then we set off. At the entrance there are immediately some coco de Mer on display and we stop for a moment to photograph them, then we continue with map in hand. The forest is very beautiful, the sun doesn't filter through so even though it's very hot at least we're in the shade. We do the whole route we had planned up to a panoramic point where we stop for a moment to rest. The view is beautiful but limited to the valley covered in forest; you can't see much of the sea and its splendid colors.

We sit for a moment then head towards the exit where we stop for a moment to buy water and make a stop at the toilet, then we notice that the bus is coming and we rush to catch it. Next stop the terminus, that is Anse Lazio. Actually the bus, as we already knew, leaves us very far from the beach so we set off aware of what awaits us... to tell the truth it's worse than we thought because the road has climbs that are killer and many parts are also in the sun so after a while we're already exhausted. Finally after yet another climb we see the sea in the distance with indescribable colors, truly beautiful, thank goodness... after so much effort at least it's worth it.. we go down the last stretch and arrive at a splendid beach with a couple of restaurants and lots of tourists... too bad..

the sea has stunning colors...and on the sides there are clusters of rocks that make the landscape even more beautiful. We settle in a little corner under the branches of a tree... we're still afraid of getting burned.. the sun is really scorching! What a paradise.... it almost doesn't feel real to finally be here... we stay a while in the shade reading and chatting, then we take turns going for a walk to the end of the beach to take some photos. Back under my little tree at a certain point I see 2 guys pass by with something on their shoulders that I couldn't quite understand what it was, then looking closer I realized it was a huge amount of freshly caught octopuses...

I had never seen so many at once, not even at the fish market! The day passes quickly and at a certain point the time comes to go back even though the idea of redoing all that uphill road on foot doesn't appeal to us much, but we set off... We arrive at the bus stop definitely exhausted.. the original idea was to continue to go see a panoramic point not far away but the bus is late and in the end, too tired, we decide to go back home... Tonight we can finally try the Sunset Cafè.. the service is very slow (there's a very serious and grumpy lady serving at the tables with incredible slowness) but in the end the food is excellent and it's also cheap. End of the evening in "our" lounge as usual playing and planning tomorrow's day. If there are no unforeseen events, tomorrow we'll finally go see the famous Anse Georgette beach!!!

Anse Georgette

After the usual breakfast we get ready to take the bus in the opposite direction from usual towards the Lemuria Hotel where this much-praised Anse Georgette beach is located... We get off right in front of the road leading to the resort, after a nice walk (just for a change) we arrive at the gate and after verifying our reservation they let us in... we wander around a bit looking for the path that leads to the beach and finally we find it on the right next to the golf course, the path is paved but obviously full of very steep climbs and descents, often in the sun too, and after a while we're already exhausted but we continue undeterred and although worn out, finally after about forty minutes we arrive at the beach.... there are no words to describe its beauty... there's no comparison with Anse Lazio, this is a little earthly paradise.

The beach is a half-moon enclosed by rocks, the sand is dazzlingly white and the sea water, despite the rather high waves, is an incredible blue-green and crystal clear... even when you're in it it has fantastic colors, even where you can't touch the bottom and with the rough sea you can still see your feet... As I said there are no words that can describe such a marvel... and if I say so, someone who has seen many splendid seas (from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, from the Australian barrier reef to the Polynesian lagoons, etc...).. believe me!!!! On top of that there's no one... too beautiful really! We settle in the shade of a tree as usual because you can't stand the sun and we enjoy this corner of paradise... Unfortunately during the day other tourists arrive but thankfully few and they sit on the opposite side from us so they don't disturb us at all.

While we're there a boat arrives and three men get off who reach the beach by swimming, then they climb up a path up the hill that borders the beach on the right side and only return after quite a while. Who knows where they went... I think it might be the path I had heard about that with about 2 hours of not-easy walking should lead to Anse Lazio...so, curious, Cri B. and I as soon as they move away decide to try to climb up too. My God what an effort.... as if the walk to get to the beach wasn't enough..... On top of that with sandals you slip like crazy because the path is very steep...in some points practically vertical, and sandy...obviously also all in the sun but we don't give up and we make it...I won't tell you in what condition..to the top or almost. The view is splendid...you can see the whole beach from above... what colors....too beautiful... Meli and Cri V.

are two little dots waving at us.... my goodness if we think that we have to go back down all the way down there with the risk of slipping and rolling down the whole hill among the rocks...better to continue... As soon as we find a miserable little tree we try to rest for a moment in the shade.. shade, so to speak...then we continue a bit more but at a certain point a huge spiderweb with a palm spider included blocks our way and we decide to turn back reluctantly. The panorama is truly stunning..what a sea...once again it was worth all the effort!!! One way or another, with a lot of fear and a few stretches done sitting on the ground, we manage to get back down... We're exhausted and we throw ourselves into the sea to cool off.....wonderful.....

Unfortunately the hard and long walk undertaken to get to the beach and the one after made us consume more water than expected so during the day we ration the little water we have left and suffer a bit from thirst. As if that weren't enough, at a certain point 2 golf carts arrive and unload, for the other tourists present on the beach surely guests of the resort, picnic baskets and portable coolers with bottles and glass goblets and all we can do is watch them from afar with a dry mouth as they down loads of stuff!!!